‘Evan’s death was predicted,’ father’s attorney says

A memorial to 3-year-old Evan Brewer sits in front of the house at 2037 S. Vine on Wednesday, where his body was found last week. Fernando Salazar The Wichita Eagle

Months before police found 3-year-old Evan Brewer’s body encased in concrete, a woman told a judge that a man living with the boy said he had nearly beat him to death.

Four times the boy’s father and others contacted the state agency charged with protecting children, expressing concern about the boy’s safety, said Shayla Johnston, an attorney for Evan’s father.

“Evan’s death was predicted and happened, and we begged the court system to save him before he was murdered,” Johnston said Thursday.No charges have been filed in the boy’s death as police continue to investigate. Police have not said how he died. His body was found Saturday.A woman’s hand-written letter became part of sworn testimony in court in early May and in early July.

In the letter, the woman alleges that her former longtime boyfriend, Stephen “Bo” Bodine, told her that “he (Bo) beat both of them to the point of death and brought them back by CPR.”The woman was referring to Evan and his mother, Miranda Miller, 36. Bodine, 40, was Miller’s boyfriend and lived with her and her child at a rental house on South Vine.

On Saturday, after the landlord alerted Wichita police, investigators found what they have described as a suspicious concrete structure containing the boy’s remains. The Brewer family has described it as a workbench filled with concrete that wasn’t noticed until after it emitted an odor.

The woman’s letter was part of an expanding court case in a legal battle over Evan waged by his father, Carlo Brewer. As an attorney and as a cousin of Carlo Brewer, Johnston compiled a detailed timeline of his efforts to protect his 3-year-old son. He was concerned that the boy was being neglected by his mother or harmed by Bodine, Johnston said.

Evan is the grandson of former Wichita mayor and current gubernatorial candidate Carl Brewer, who spoke about the death in a 90-minute interview with The Eagle on Wednesday.

“It means if we couldn’t save Evan, what child can be saved?” said Johnston, who is Carl Brewer’s niece.

Carl Brewer said in the interview Wednesday that Gov. Sam Brownback called Tuesday, gave his condolences and said he would look into DCF’s handling of the case involving Evan. DCF – the Department for Children and Families – is the state agency that investigates reports of child abuse.